A Battle for Diamond

With the introduction of Citi’s new Hilton HHonors Reserve card, there are now two options for big spenders to earn top tier Diamond status with Hilton (besides, you know, actually staying at a Hilton): the Citi HHonors Reserve and the Amex HHonors Surpass. Both cards grant Diamond status after $40K of annual spend. Which is better?

If you want to spend $40,000 on the card annually for HHonors Diamond status. My parents are a prime example of how awesome this card is. They own a business where they put well over $100,000 in expenses per year on credit cards, and all the spend is in categories that doesn’t earn bonus points with other cards. They also like to travel, though due to commitments don’t take more than a few trips a year. This is an awesome way for them to not only have their hotel nights covered on points, but also to be treated very well thanks to top tier status with Hilton.

This got me thinking. Is the Citi card really the better card for earning Diamond status? I’ve been a fan of the Amex Surpass card for quite a while. Is it possible that the Citi card is better? Not counting the sign-up bonuses of either card, let’s look at the advantages of each:

Citi Advantages

10X (10 points per dollar) at Hilton properties (vs. 9X with the Surpass)

5X for airline and car rental purchases

3X for everything else (same as Amex)

No foreign transaction fees

Smart chip for easier use overseas

One free weekend night after $10K spend per year

Amex Surpass Advantages

6X for supermarkets, drug stores and stand- alone gas stations; and for service payments for home and wireless phone, cable, satellite TV and Internet service providers.

3X for everything else (same as Citi)

AXON Awards: discounted 4-night award redemptions for cardholders

$75 annual fee (vs. $95 annual fee for the Citi card)

When Citi is better

I think there are a few situations in which the Citi card is better for earning Diamond status:

If you plan to meet much of your $40K spend outside of the United States, then the Citi card has a big advantage with it’s smart chip and no foreign transaction fees.

If most of your spend is not within the categories for which the Surpass gives 6X (supermarkets, drug stores, gas, etc.)

If a lot of your spend is on airline and car rentals, you’ll earn 5X instead of the Surpass’ 3X. Or, if you plan to spend a lot at Hilton properties, you’ll earn an extra point per dollar.

Even if you break even with point-earnings compared to the Surpass card, you will come out ahead with the Citi card. By using the Citi card, you avoid foreign transaction fees and you earn 1 free weekend night each year.

When Amex is better

The Amex Surpass card has the edge when you spend enough in its 6X categories to overcome the loss of a free weekend night (which you would earn with the Citi card). Personally, I like points better than a free weekend night because points aren’t limited to particular days of the week and points don’t expire if not used within the year. Let’s arbitrarily value Citi’s free weekend night at 40,000 points. If so, you would need to spend about $13,500 in the Surpass’ 6X categories in order to earn enough extra points to overcome the loss of the weekend night. Given that, the Surpass may be the better card for earning Diamond status in these situations:

You spend heavily within the Surpass’ 6X categories. Note that for a large family, this can be quite easy to do. I know families that regularly spend $300 per week or more on groceries. If they were to use the Surpass card, they would earn almost 50,000 more points than they would with the Citi card (over the course of a year) and they would be almost half way towards meeting the $40K spend requirement.

You are a creative spender. If you like the idea of going to supermarkets, drug stores, or gas stations to buy gift cards, you may find that you can dramatically increase both your monthly spend and points earned. You can even save money by buying gas station gift cards at a grocery store that offers fuel points. This way you will get the same 6X that you would have earned at the gas station, but you also earn discounts off your fuel! If you want to take things even further (advanced gift card churners only!), see if you can find a supermarket, drug store, or gas station that sells prepaid reload cards and allows credit card purchases. If so, you can do a trick like the one documented in “One card to rule them all.”

I wouldn’t count the discounted AXON awards as a reason to prefer the Amex. Even if you put your $40K spend on the Citi card, you can get the no fee version of the Amex HHonors card in order to qualify for the same discounts.

I’m tempted, are you?

I’ll probably wait at least until next year to get started with this, but I am tempted to get the Surpass card and try out some creative spend techniques. I think that with a little effort it could be a fantastic way to earn oodles of Hilton HHonors points and top tier Diamond status.

How about you? Are you tempted to go for Diamond? Which card (if either) is right for you?

More From The Frequent Miler

Greg is the owner, founder, and primary author of the Frequent Miler. He earns millions of points and miles each year, mostly without flying, and dedicates this blog to teaching others how to do the same.

Andras: So far the only reports of Vanilla reloads (payable by credit card) have come from small local chains. I haven’t found any near me yet

Dave: Yes, that’s a great option. It really comes down to how much you value Hilton points + Diamond status

Carsten: yes, that combination is excellent if you’re not pursuing diamond status. If you are pursuing diamond status, splitting your expenses will make it harder to achieve

StvR: True: at least the published benefits are nearly the same. I don’t have any experience with Diamond status to know whether treatment is better or if upgrades become more likely which I would expect)

I’ve been thinking about this one as well. I’m planning on a BIG trip in 3 years. It will be HHonors points and Diamond status will be nice for the trip.
I have a feeling that in order to meet my 40k spend, a lot of it will be done at grocery stores.
That, plus the 50k bonus to upgrade my regular amex to the surpass means I’ll likely go the surpass route. I’ll probably upgrade around December 2013 (hit the spend in 2014 for trip in 2015).
Unless some other kind of offer comes up in the next 16 months that is.

I got the card but mainly for the free Gold because recently I tend to end up in non chain hotels with my business travel and gradually loose all status I got with the various programs.
Also the 2 free nights already cover the sign up easily. I won’t bother though to spend 40k since Gold is enough for my purpose. I don’t use lounges on business trips and while on vacation we tend to go out a lot and also mainly use non hotel restaurants.

(Sorry if this is a double post, I don’t think it went through the first time): I have been in the furniture business for a while now I so I feel I have a lot of real world experience dealing with people and a popular industry. That being said I think you did a solid job with your post and you pretty much hit everything spot on. If it’s okay with you I would like to link to you from my blog? Im gonna go ahead and use the title “A Battle for Diamond – The Frequent Miler” unless you tell me otherwise. Looking forward to your reply!

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